Studies, Obesity, and Children

Hello everyone. To gain background knowlegde for my following rant, please read this article (the source of making Dan go into one of his creatively hilarious tirades)
http://health.msn.com/reports/obesity/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100169605&GT1=10412

This topic came to me last Tuesday when I was assigned to read and respond to an essay about fat kids suing the fast food industry in one of my literature classes. The essay, Don’t Blame the Eater, was written by a previous fat kid who grew into a healthy adult David Zinczencko. I didn’t really think much of the essay, other than Zinczenko clearly doesn’t understand the fact that fast food isn’t solely to blame for ALL of America’s health problems (because obesity apparently leads to every disease known, excluding anorexia and bulimia) Anyway, Zinczencko was arguing that fast food is to blame and the lawsuits are just. Fortunately for these kids I am not a lawyer, because I would counter sue them on behalf of the fast food industry for being lazy. The moral of this story is the essay really sucked and I basically tore it apart (hooray Dan you are so smart) Days later, this subject of American obesity had almost left my mind until I stumbled upon a news headline, The Role Relationships Play in Obesity. First, I started to read thinking this would be a great article to send as a joke to my brother who has recently gained a little weight, but as I read I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I suddenly took pity on these fat kids. Parents are now being encouraged to tell there children to stay away from fat children. Isn’t it bad enough that these kids are made fun of, picked last in gym, and sometimes even physically harmed (think dodge balls in the face) from the other kids, now they are going to be completely ostracized. To be fair the article did say, “Make it clear that you have zero tolerance for name-calling or stereotyping of kids who are overweight or different in any other way. Help your child develop a sense of empathy for those who stand out.” HA! Because parents never thought of the “don’t call anyone names” or the “it’s ok if Jimmy has just one leg, his wheel chair is what makes him special” approaches. Right, I am totally trusting kids to be especially nice to the fat kids now that their parents are telling them that fat people are just as bad to hang around with as drugs addicts. As the article says, “It's common for kids, especially as they grow into teens, to be influenced by their friends and peers. What "everyone else" is doing can also influence their choices when it comes to behaviors like smoking, drinking, drug use, and even what kind of food they eat when they're together.”
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
To answer my rhetorical question, STUDIES! We have become too wrapped up in studies. Everything is bad. Calories, bad. They are what cause you to put on weight. They also help you do a little something call staying alive. I saw a report claiming that people should “stay away” from certain types of fruit, because to much of them in your diet may harm you. FRUIT?! I guess their really isn’t anything healthy to eat anymore. Kids throwing baseballs, bad. I heard an announcer say that kids shouldn’t be allowed to pitch until high school, because so many young pitchers are suffering injuries. But then there is the old school/Japanese way of going about throwing. You do it as much as possible to build up your arm strength. And yet it seems like none of the Japanese pitchers suffer arm injuries, and I’m pretty sure some old time pitchers threw upwards of 40 complete games in a season with out suffering injuries. Imagine, if a young boy eats a bowl of fruit and then goes to play catch with his friends. What will become of this young hooligan? He will most likely end up in the hospital with diabetes, a blown shoulder, and a horrible attitude. Video games, bad. Video games apparently make kids more violent. No, they don’t. Kids not being able to wrestle around with their siblings and friends, or play a sport without touching the other kids; because little Timmy might just get an owy, is what makes children more violent. They have no reasonable outlet to take out their frustrations. But isn’t that really the issue., children having frustration? Heaven forbid if a child suffers through any ordeal. As the article, supported by a doctor, states, “If parents instill healthy values and habits in kids early on, kids will be prepared to handle and interpret whatever social influences they encounter as they grow.” FALSE. Because everyone knows that to actually handle a social situation they may encounter as they grow, they actually have to go through something called LIFE. Studies try and prove what things are bad for us. They tell us we need to stay away from these things. Parents then see these studies and say, “well I can’t have Sally doing that and eating this.” So as a result, kids are sheltered and overly protected. Suddenly, no score is kept in their little league soccer games. These children don’t face any loses, any hardships. This leaves them with all the self-esteem in the world, only to have it be devastatingly crushed when they enter the world, and they have no way of coping. No more of these useless studies, no more of this over protective, its all for the kids benefit parenting. Then perhaps, people like David Zinczecko and the folks at kidshealth.org can understand that people have to make decisions for themselves, take personal responsibility for their actions, and suffer through their mistakes. This way, their will be no more frivolous lawsuits that make the prices for insurance, and by default everything else, sky rocket. This way, fat kids will have to suffer through name calling and abuse to ultimately become better people. I leave you with some quotes I am certain you have heard from your parents, “back in my day we had to walk to school uphill……..both ways.” “I remember when we used to just play outside all day without our parents knowing where we were.” “I remember I was so skinny and strong.” “We had to eat our fruits and vegetables before we had dessert, if we even had it at all.” “Kids have it so easy nowadays; we had work in my day.” “Kids are so spoiled these days.” “These kids today, they just don’t know what the real world is.”